Hi-5 ABA

Every year, thousands of Board Certified Behavior Analysts spend years mastering the clinical science of Applied Behavior Analysis only to find themselves trapped by the administrative reality of running a healthcare practice — credentialing nightmares, insurance billing disputes, payroll management, and cash flow gaps that have nothing to do with helping children with autism. Hi-5 ABA franchise was built precisely to solve that problem. The brand traces its origins to 2012, when Stephanie Maddox founded ABC Behavior in Northern and Central Virginia, developing an innovative ABA therapy system that by late 2018 had successfully grown to 10 operating ABA therapy businesses across that region. Recognizing the scalability of this model, David Maddox — who brought a background in humanitarian work through Cornerstone Mission Inc., which he founded in 2003 — joined Stephanie and formalized Hi-5 ABA, Inc. as a Virginia corporation on December 19, 2018, with headquarters established in Warrenton, Virginia. The franchise began offering opportunities to qualified BCBAs in March 2019, and by 2023 had expanded to 22 total units, with 21 franchised and 1 company-owned. As of the 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, there are 28 franchised Hi-5 ABA locations operating across the United States, spread across 14 states, with the South representing the largest regional concentration at 12 franchise locations. The company currently supports practitioners across more than 18 states and is actively targeting a nationwide footprint. For franchise investors evaluating the behavioral health space, Hi-5 ABA occupies a specific and defensible niche: it is not a general healthcare franchise, but a purpose-built operating system designed exclusively for BCBAs who want to own their practice without sacrificing clinical excellence to administrative complexity. This analysis is independent research, not marketing material, and every figure cited is sourced from public FDD filings and disclosed company data.

The ABA therapy industry sits within the broader behavioral health market, which is one of the fastest-expanding segments of U.S. healthcare. Autism spectrum disorder diagnoses have risen significantly in recent decades, with the Centers for Disease Control reporting prevalence rates that have created sustained, long-term demand for evidence-based developmental interventions. ABA therapy is the gold standard treatment endorsed by major medical and insurance bodies, and because autism is a lifelong condition requiring early and intensive intervention, client relationships in ABA practices tend to be long-duration, creating recurring revenue dynamics that distinguish the model from transactional healthcare services. The International Franchise Association's 2025 outlook projects franchising broadly will reach $578 billion in franchise GDP — a forecast growth of 5% in 2025 — and generate $936.4 billion in total franchise output across the U.S. economy. Within healthcare franchising, behavioral health and ABA therapy represent a subsector with secular tailwinds that are largely insulated from the economic cyclicality that affects retail and food-service franchises. Families do not defer autism therapy the way they defer restaurant visits or discretionary retail purchases, which creates relative demand stability across economic conditions. The competitive landscape in ABA therapy remains fragmented at the local and regional level despite some national consolidation activity — the broader industry saw transactions such as Alongside acquiring San Diego ABA in May 2025 and Commonwealth ABA being sold to Already Autism Health in January 2025, signaling that institutional capital continues to flow into the space and validate the market's growth trajectory. For franchise investors, a fragmented market with growing institutional interest represents the classic conditions where a proven franchise system with established operational infrastructure can capture meaningful market share before consolidation compresses independent ownership opportunities.

The Hi-5 ABA franchise cost structure is notably accessible relative to most healthcare franchise categories, which typically require substantially higher capitalization thresholds. The minimum liquid capital requirement is $20,000, and the minimum net worth requirement is $100,000 — figures that position Hi-5 ABA as one of the lower barrier-to-entry healthcare franchise opportunities available to qualifying BCBAs. The initial franchise fee structure accommodates different entry scenarios: conversion franchisees — practitioners who are converting an existing practice into the Hi-5 ABA system — may pay as little as $500, while non-conversion franchisees pay between $12,000 and $15,000 based on disclosed FDD data. For those interested in precise current fee schedules, Timothy Maddox, Director of Franchising since the company's December 2018 inception, handles full fee breakdowns and initial startup cost projections. Total initial investment ranges from $15,618 to $74,730 based on 2025 FDD data, with a 2026 source indicating a range of $15,918 to $80,870 — a spread driven primarily by technology system choices, insurance coverage levels, professional fees, and the critical variable of additional working capital allocated for the first six months of operations, which the FDD itemizes at $12,500 to $50,000 depending on practice scale and growth pace. Other itemized investment components include technology system equipment at $600 to $2,500, technology system services at $93 to $780, business equipment and supplies at $300 to $500, insurance at $1,000 to $3,000, professional fees at $500 to $2,000, and marketing at $125 to $575. The ongoing royalty fee is 8.00% of gross revenues, and an advertising fee of 1.00% applies in certain disclosures. The franchise also offers a 10% discount on the first territory franchise fee for veterans, and Hi-5 Processing, Inc. — an affiliate founded alongside Hi-5 ABA, Inc. in 2018 by David Maddox — may provide franchisees up to $50,000 to cover payroll and other necessary business expenses based on outstanding receivables and limitations detailed in Item 10 of the FDD. This affiliate financing mechanism is a structural differentiator in the franchise system, directly addressing the cash flow timing challenges that plague independent ABA practices dealing with insurance reimbursement cycles.

The operating model of a Hi-5 ABA franchise is built around a foundational premise: the BCBA franchisee should spend their professional energy on clinical supervision and client outcomes, not on credentialing paperwork, insurance billing disputes, or payroll administration. Services begin with an initial assessment and orientation performed by a Licensed Behavior Analyst, followed by the design of an individualized treatment plan and the submission of authorization requests to applicable insurers. Once authorized, a weekly therapy schedule is coordinated with families, and direct therapy typically runs 10 to 30 hours per week per client, performed substantially by behavior technicians — Registered Behavior Technicians — operating under the clinical direction of the BCBA analyst. The franchise model is predominantly structured for in-home therapy delivery, though Hi-5 ABA franchisees also serve clients in schools, workplaces, and community settings, providing geographic and format flexibility that reduces dependency on a single therapy environment. Staffing is a central operational responsibility, with franchisees managing their own caseloads and schedules while Hi-5 ABA provides active support in recruiting both analysts and behavior technicians, along with employee onboarding infrastructure to integrate new staff efficiently. The training program covers clinical supervision methodology, treatment plan development, practice management, staff recruitment and retention, and marketing strategies to grow the client base. Ongoing support extends across business consulting, credentialing and insurance claims submission preparation, billing and collections management, payroll processing, bookkeeping and accounting, cash flow assistance, financial reporting, insurer relationship management, clinical consultation, and access to a comprehensive library of insurance audit manuals, daily use templates, and training materials and videos. Hi-5 ABA and its affiliate, Hi-5 Processing, Inc. — led by COO Tom Fremont, who rejoined the team in 2024 — handle this administrative infrastructure so that franchisees can operate with clinical independence while benefiting from enterprise-level operational support. The franchise's territory structure has been described in certain sources as providing exclusive geographic protection to franchisees, and interested investors should review current FDD disclosures and clarify territory terms directly with the franchise development team, as this is a material consideration for long-term market positioning.

Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document. This is a significant due diligence consideration for prospective Hi-5 ABA franchise investors, as it means the FDD does not provide a franchisor-certified, audited picture of average or median unit-level revenues. However, certain publicly available data points provide useful context. One independent source estimates the average unit volume for a Hi-5 ABA franchise at $238,000 in annual revenue. The franchisor's own estimated annual revenue is reported at approximately $1.7 million, with an estimated revenue per employee of $38,636 across 44 employees — figures that reflect the corporate franchisor entity rather than individual franchise unit economics. The FDD does include an Item 19 financial performance representation covering historical revenue data from existing offices, including total revenues billed and collected during prior calendar years and average monthly billings during the last three months of each reported year. Investors are advised to request and review this Item 19 data carefully alongside the full FDD and Franchise Agreement, with particular attention to the distinction between billed revenue and collected revenue — a gap that is structurally meaningful in insurance-dependent healthcare businesses where payer reimbursement timelines and claim adjudication outcomes materially affect actual cash receipts. The initial investment range of $15,618 to $74,730 is low enough that even conservative revenue performance at the $238,000 average unit volume estimate would generate a theoretically meaningful return-on-investment ratio, provided franchisees manage staffing costs and maintain sufficient billable hours. Prospective investors should conduct independent financial modeling using the Item 19 data available within the FDD, benchmark against published ABA industry revenue norms, and engage a franchise-experienced accountant to analyze the full cost structure before committing capital.

Hi-5 ABA's growth trajectory from 0 franchised units at its March 2019 launch to 21 franchised units by end of 2023 and 28 franchised units in the 2024 FDD data reflects a consistent, methodical expansion pace of approximately 4 to 5 net new units per year over its first five years of franchising — not explosive hypergrowth, but steady, defensible unit accumulation in a specialized healthcare category that requires franchisee clinical credentialing. The geographic distribution across 14 states as of the most recent data, with the South holding the largest concentration at 12 locations, suggests regional strength in markets with high autism service demand and favorable insurance reimbursement environments. A notable 2024 development was the return of Tom Fremont as Chief Operating Officer of Hi-5 ABA Processing, focusing specifically on business growth and development — a leadership reinvestment that signals the company's intent to accelerate the expansion of its affiliate processing infrastructure as the franchise network scales. On the innovation front, the company demonstrated international adaptability when a member of the Hi-5 ABA leadership team developed the first RBT manual in Mandarin through volunteer work at a special needs foster home in China — an initiative that, while not a direct franchise expansion move, illustrates the brand's capacity to translate its clinical methodology across cultural and language barriers. Ben MacGowen serves as COO of Hi-5 ABA, overseeing franchise group development, system development, process improvement, product development, and affiliate integration — a broad operational mandate that reflects the organizational complexity of managing both a franchise network and an integrated processing affiliate simultaneously. The competitive moat for Hi-5 ABA rests not on brand recognition alone but on the operational integration between the franchise system and Hi-5 Processing, Inc., which creates a switching cost for franchisees who have built their billing, credentialing, payroll, and cash flow management around the affiliate's infrastructure — a genuine operational lock-in that benefits retention and system stability.

The ideal Hi-5 ABA franchise candidate is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who has the clinical credentials and professional standing to operate an ABA practice but lacks the business infrastructure, administrative expertise, or capital access to launch and scale independently. David Maddox and Stephanie Maddox built this model specifically to lower the barrier for clinically qualified BCBAs who want the autonomy of practice ownership without carrying the full operational burden alone. Franchisees retain complete clinical independence to design and execute treatment plans and determine their own pace for growth, caseload development, and business style — a critical feature for BCBAs who have professional and ethical standards that must remain non-negotiable. Multi-unit ownership is a logical evolution for successful franchisees who build strong local referral networks and want to expand their geographic footprint, though the franchise model accommodates single-territory operators as well. Available territories span more than 18 states currently, with active expansion plans targeting additional states in the near term, meaning investors evaluating desirable metropolitan and suburban markets should engage with the franchise development team promptly to understand current territory availability. The conversion franchisee pathway — available at a dramatically reduced franchise fee entry point — is specifically relevant for BCBAs already operating independent practices who want to plug into Hi-5 ABA's administrative and processing infrastructure without rebuilding their clinical operations from scratch. Nirvana Kowlessar-Hirshleifer, a BCBA and Hi-5 ABA franchise owner, described her experience as the happiest she has ever been in her career, specifically crediting the system's comprehensive support with enabling her to build a sustainable and successful practice while maintaining the clinical culture and values central to her professional identity.

For investors conducting serious due diligence on the behavioral health franchise space, Hi-5 ABA presents a compelling investment thesis anchored in three structural advantages: an exceptionally low capital entry point relative to healthcare franchise norms, a fully integrated administrative infrastructure through its Hi-5 Processing affiliate that addresses the industry's most persistent operational pain points, and a growing national footprint operating in a market with documented secular demand growth tied to rising autism identification rates. The franchise's expansion from 10 Virginia-based ABC Behavior offices in 2018 to 28 franchised locations across 14 states as of the most recent FDD reflects a franchise model that has survived its early-stage execution risk and demonstrated reproducibility across diverse geographic markets. The 8.00% royalty rate is a meaningful ongoing commitment, and prospective franchisees should carefully model this against the average unit volume data and the Item 19 revenue representations in the current FDD. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark Hi-5 ABA against other behavioral health and ABA therapy franchises across every critical investment metric. Whether you are a BCBA evaluating your first franchise opportunity or a multi-unit investor exploring the behavioral health category, independent data is the foundation of sound decision-making. Explore the complete Hi-5 ABA franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.